Many people who value their pets are very concerned about the pets' comfort and well-being. So, when pets get old, develop bone and joint diseases, or are otherwise disabled, their owners want to help them get around the house and be independent. The problem becomes especially obvious in the case of small dogs that are recovering from surgery and cannot jump from the floor to the bed or sofa.
There have been attempts in the past to invent devices to aid pets in climbing to different elevations. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,207 to LaRocca, there is disclosed a system for assembling portable steps into a stair for small pets. However, LaRocca's device does not anticipate injured or disabled pets and is constructed of hard, rigid materials that will not “give” when a pet steps on them. Also, LaRocca's stair system uses many small parts requiring relatively intensive assembly and therefore does not have the flexibility and versatility of the present invention.
Karsten in U.S. Pat. No. D383,261 and Forester in U.S. Pat. No. D429,038 both disclose pet stairs. However, these two designs are simply the rigid, immovable two-step design such as is common in kitchen or other step stools.